Australia central bank keeps door open to cut

Australia's central bank again left the door open to further interest rate cuts but signaled no urgency to act because there was a substantial amount of policy stimulus already in place.

In minutes of its Oct. 1 meeting, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) also said it was hard to judge the effects of a recent appreciation in the local dollar, partly because it was uncertain whether this would be sustained.

"Given the substantial degree of policy stimulus that had been imparted, it would be prudent to leave the cash rate at the existing low level while continuing to gauge the effects," the minutes released on Tuesday said.

In a widely expected move, the RBA held its cash rate steady at a record low 2.5 percent this month. It has already slashed a total of 225 basis points off its benchmark rate since November 2011 and appeared to have shifted to a wait-and-see stance.

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Repeating the same line in last month's meeting, the RBA said: "Members agreed that the Bank should again neither close off the possibility of reducing rates further nor signal an imminent intention to reduce them."

"The Board would continue to examine the data over the months ahead to assess whether monetary policy was appropriately configured."

Board members also noted a recent pick-up in both consumer and business confidence, but admitted it was difficult to know how significant this development was, given there was no certainty it would last.